Setting eyes to deliver a high-octane and explosive action movie like none before, Timur Bekmambetov's adaptation from Mark Millar's comic books has been praised to be worth the wait.
- Jun 25, 2008
AceShowbiz - This summer, many high profile studios are in race to bring bigger and badder Marvel's superheroes to life by adapting the comic books into the big screen. Nonetheless, Universal Pictures strive to be different by delivering another kind of action adaptation and molding Mark Millar's comic book miniseries for a silver screen material known as "Wanted (2008)". And with the high octane movie is nearing its theatrical debut on Friday, June 27, it seems that many have applauded the studio's effort.
Pretty bold in exposing the bloody and adrenaline pumping sequences, the movie starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie has been hailed by most of the critics to be an action movie moviegoers haven't seen before. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes has rated it to be 83|percent| fresh with only 4 out of 23 movie critics giving it harsh reviews. Praising "Wanted", Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com commented, "The action genre hasn't felt this fresh and alive since 1999 and the Wachowskis." On the same tone, Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews stated that it "delivers slam-bang action entertainment" with a surprising twist at the end.
Adding to the positive reviews, many of the movie critics promoted "Wanted" to be one of the 2008 summer films worth to be seen. New York Magazine's David Edelstein wrote in his review, "Wanted has the kind of irresistible summer-movie allure that makes studio executives drool in anticipation." Adding to Edelstein's remark, James Rocchi of Cinematical described it to be "the two-fisted, double-barreled high-octane guilty pleasure summer action movie you've been waiting for." Moreover, Premiere Magazine's Malina Saval suggested that the movie should be on top of moviegoers list "for big budget thrill rides" if what they are looking for is "spellbinding special effects and high-wire acts".
Bringing in Timur Bekmambetov, the man who successfully delivered "Night Watch", a Russian fantasy film based on Sergey Lukyanenko's book to tackle the project, "Wanted" centers its story on Wesley Gibson, a young man who leads a miserable life with a job he doesn't like, a boss who likes to bully him and a girlfriend who cheats on him. Amidst his desperation to be noticed as somebody comes an attractive Fox who informs him of his estrange father's death and recruits him to the secret super assassin society by the name of the Fraternity. Trained and nurtured to be among the deathly assassins, Gibson soon realized that his seem-to-be-friendly associates are more than meets the eye. Now, he has to control his own destiny.
